Give, Train, Go! North Georgia Responds to Hurricane Florence

Updated Oct 5

North Georgia United Methodists have a three part response plan as we respond to our neighbors who suffered damage from Hurricane Florence: Give, Train, Go.

ERT Teams Needed
The North Carolina and South Carolina Conferences have issued an invitation for ERT from North Georgia to help respond to hurricane damage. Only the ERT Team Leader should call or email the North or South Carolina Conferences as they will be the only point of contact.

To Respond in North Carolina
Requirements: Some areas require only team leader be badged ERT, other areas require the entire team to be badged ERT.
ERT team leaders can find information at https://nccumc.org/florence/volunteer/ and should contact the North Carolina Conference to schedule a team at disasterresponse@nccumc.org or 888-440-9167. 

Te Respond in South Carolina
Requirements: Only the team leader must be badged ERT.
Teams interested in volunteering should contact Chuck Marshall at (864) 216-1876 or sp_disasterresponse@umcsc.org. 

Giving
Our best responses are prayer and giving. Fund Number 9431 has been set by North Georgia for Hurricane Florence Relief. Give through your local United Methodist Church, or give directly to the North Georgia Conference Disaster Response Fund at https://www.ngumc.org/donatenow.

"We hope your church will give generously as this is a massive flooding disaster over a huge area of the Carolinas," said Rev. Scott Parrish. 

North Georgia recently shipped an additional 1,000 Cleaning Buckets and Hygiene Kits directly to North Carolina. A truck was loaded at Impact UMC by volunteers from Impact, Headland Heights, Mt. Zion Marietta, Kennesaw, and Alpharetta churches. 

Training
Do you feel called to be among the early responders when our neighbors (or our own community) are faced with disaster? There is a great need for badged ERTs and we are offering several upcoming trainings and recertifications.

Find trainings scheduled for October and November at www.ngumc.org/disasterresponseministry. 

"We will have MANY opportunities both in North Georgia and around the southeast and US in the days, months, and years ahead," said Rev. Scott Parrish.

Best Practices for Churches
The North Georgia Conference can be the most helpful to our neighbors by following the best practices below:

• Do not self-deploy, but wait for the official invitation to respond. We are at our best when disaster response is coordinated locally.
• Check your church calendar. When can your church plan a mission trip in the next 6 months? Over the summer? Over a long weekend? The need will be great and will be ongoing for weeks and months, even years to come. 
• Prayers and giving are our most effective first response. (Use Fund #9431 for Hurricane Florence Relief.)
• We are well-stocked with UMCOR Relief Kits for now. (Thank you!) But we expect to issue a request for more kits.
• Do not collect unrequested items. Water and clothing and almost never helpful.
• This is a rapidly changing situation, so check ngumc.org and the Weekly Update e-newsletter for the most current information.

• Currently badged Early Response Teams should schedule their team to NC or SC with the host Annual Conference directly.
   

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